No proposal to privatise Singareni Collieries Company Ltd, assures Prime Minister

Vested elements spreading false narratives about privatisation of the coal major; State government holds controlling stake in the company, PM explained

Alleging that some vested elements were spreading false narratives about the State-owned Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) for selfish political motives, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has categorically stated that there is no proposal to privatise the SCCL.

Some undesirable elements are spreading rumours in this regard with narrow political machinations at the behest of some vested interests, he charged in an oblique reference to the bitter critics of the BJP-led Central government’s policies related to the coal sector.

Mr. Modi was addressing a public function in Ramagundam of Telangana’s Peddapalli district after dedicating the gas-based neem-coated urea plant of the Ramagundam Fertilisers and Chemicals Limited (RFCL) set up at a cost of over ₹6300 crore and the Bhadrachalam Road (Kothagudem)-Sattupalli new railway line project laid at a cost of ₹927.94 crore to the nation late on Saturday afternoon.

The Prime Minister also laid the foundation stones of various road expansion projects — Sironcha-Mahadevpur section of NH-353C, Bodhan-Basar-Bhainsa section of NH-161BB, and Medak-Siddipet-Elkaturthi section of NH-765DG — at an estimated cost of ₹2260 crore.

Stating that the Telangana government holds 51% stake in the SCCL whereas the Centre’s stake in the coal company is only 49%. The Centre cannot take any decision pertaining to the SCCL on its own, he pointed out.

“At a time when a plethora of development works are underway, those averse to it are bent upon creating hurdles to the development endeavour,” he said, reaffirming that there was no proposal or intention to privatise the SCCL.

Referring to the major coal scams that surfaced in the country over a decade ago resulting in colossal loss to the public exchequer, he said the coal mines are being auctioned in a transparent manner keeping in view the burgeoning demand for coal in the country. To benefit people of the coal mining areas, a District Mineral Fund has been created for this purpose, he added.